Not Quite Perfect (Not Quite Series Book 5) (13 page)

Kent left his engine running and got out of his car. “What happened?”

“I think it’s the battery.”

Kent thumbed in the direction of his car. “I have jumper cables.”

“Do you? That would be great.”

“Ma’am? Do you want me to send a driver?”

Mary turned back to the phone. “I think I’m good. Someone is here to help.”

“Thank you for calling Triple A. Feel free to call back if you need further assistance.”

Kent moved to the front of her car and unbuttoned the dress sleeves of his white shirt before rolling them up to his elbows.

“I don’t know what could have happened. The lights are automatic. Even the dome light turns off after two minutes.”

He fiddled with the cables that connected the battery to the rest of the engine. “Try turning it over.”

She slid into the driver’s seat and turned the key.

The car moaned again without turning over.

“Definitely sounds like the battery. Let me pull my car up to yours.”

Kent backed up and swung his car around to face hers and popped his hood. She stayed where she was and waited for him to connect the cables.

“It’s a good thing I was working late,” he said.

“Great timing.”

“I didn’t realize this was your building.”

“Yep, this is where I rent space to see my clients.”

“Oh.” He disappeared under her hood for a few seconds. “Try it now.”

She got back in her seat. “C’mon.”

The engine took a second to catch and then turned over. “Oh, thank goodness.”

Mary left it running and stepped out of her car. “I can’t thank you enough.”

Kent set the jumper cables on the ground and closed her hood. “No problem.”

“I really don’t know what happened for the thing to drain.”

He wiped his hands together. “I’d get that checked right away. Wouldn’t want to be stranded in a less hospitable place.”

“That’s true. I’ll take it in tomorrow. Really, Kent. Thank you.”

He stepped a little closer and leaned against her car. “You can thank me by going out with me.”

She kept her smile but found herself biting her lip. Last month she would have taken him up on the offer. “Uhm, the thing is . . . I’m kinda seeing someone.”

“Oh . . . just kinda?”

“Well, we’ve known each other for a while . . .” Why was she explaining this to a stranger? “We just started dating.”

“Sounds serious.”

She lifted her shoulders. “I don’t know. Could be.”

“And you don’t date two men at the same time.”

Mary shook her head. “Tried to in college. It didn’t work out very well.”

His chest rose and fell with a giant sigh. “Well, if something changes, you let me know.”

Thank goodness.
“I will.”

He pointed in the air in her direction. “I’ll take you up on that.”

He turned back to his car, closed the hood, and put the cables back in his trunk.

“Thanks again.”

“My pleasure. Have a nice evening, Mary.”

Alone in her car, she gripped the steering wheel and felt some of the tension leave her system. Kent followed her out of the lot and waved when they turned in opposite directions at the first intersection. Then Mary took a solid breath.

Chapter Fourteen

Glen listened to Mary’s phone ring for the fourth time. He’d already left her a message on her house phone and considered calling her cell. But she’d told him she had clients into the evening and not to bother since she turned it off.

Here it was close to nine at night in California and he was starting to worry.

Since when did he worry about a woman missing his call?

He heard her message machine pick up and lifted the phone from his ear to hang up the call.

“Hello? Glen?”

“There you are.” Her voice made him smile.

“Yeah . . . God, what a day. Can I call you right back? I just ran in the door.”

“Of course.”

“Okay. Give me five minutes.” She hung up.

When she called back, he was sitting on his leather sofa in his den, his socked feet kicked up on the coffee table in front of him.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey, yourself. You’re up late.”

“I missed my call this morning, I couldn’t have you wondering if I lost your number.”

“I would hope you’d have memorized it by now.”

He had . . . a long time ago, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. “You’re getting in late.”

“Long day at work. Then my car wouldn’t start.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Battery. But I don’t know why. I’ll take it in tomorrow and have it checked. I’m going to eat in your ear while we’re talking, hope you don’t mind. I’m starving.”

He chuckled. “Go on ahead. So was there someone in your building to give you a jump?”

“The one behind me, actually. Everyone in mine was gone for the day. I hate car problems with a fiery passion. Dakota is always telling me I need a stun gun in my purse for when things like this happen.”

On this he had to agree with Dakota. Mary would be a beautiful, blonde target if she broke down in the wrong neighborhood. “I’m guessing you don’t own a stun gun.”

“No. After Dakota shocked the heck out of Walt last year . . . I don’t know, seemed like that thing is too dangerous.”

“Why would she stick Walt with a blast of electricity?”

“It was an accident. He approached her from behind in a dark parking lot. She didn’t know it was him. She felt guilty for weeks. Didn’t stop her from laughing about it, but boy was she guilt ridden over it!”

“That’s funny.”

“It was. Anyway, I didn’t need one today, so I guess I’m good.”

He heard her attempt to chew as they spoke. “About this weekend.”

“Uh-huh?”

“There’s a dinner party I’ve committed to going to on Saturday.”

He heard her drink something before she responded. “I understand. I’m thoroughly enjoying our weekends, but can’t expect to dominate every one.”

He liked that she sounded sincere and a little disappointed at the same time. “I want you to be my date.”

She cleared her throat. “In Connecticut?”

“The party is in Manhattan, but yes.”

Mary was silent, and for a minute he thought she had her mouth full again. “Uhm, I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to.”

“Go ahead.”

“I-I can’t afford a flight back east right now. Not with all my plumbing issues—”

“Mary—”

“I’d love to join you. And it’s only fair that I visit you instead of you making the trip all the time. I mean—”

“Mary—”

“And my car, who knows what’s wrong with my—”

“Mary!”

“I’m sorry. I’m rambling.”

“I’ll send a plane. I wouldn’t have asked you to come here without offering a ride. I have meetings on Friday and can’t fly out to get you, but I do have a leg in LA that is coming back here Friday night. Or if you want to fly on Saturday, I can arrange that, too. Just tell me you’ll come.”

“It feels like I’m taking advantage.”

He knew that was coming. “You didn’t ask me, I’m asking you.”

“I don’t know . . .”

He needed to change tactics. “Dakota and you are best friends, right?”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“Just answer the question, Mary. You’re tight, correct?”

He heard her sigh. No food in her mouth that he could tell. “Yes. She’s my family.”

“You two talk, right? About everything?” If there was one thing Glen knew about women . . . other than the need for chocolate on occasion, it was their ability to talk.

“Yes.”

“Do you ever offer her advice?”

“What?”

“Like when she zapped Walt with the stun gun, did you talk about that?”

“Of course we talked about it, how could I have told you about it had I not talked about it?”

“You gave her advice,” he asked.

“I told her she shouldn’t feel guilty about buzzing anyone who walked up to her in a dark parking lot, even if it was her own mother. If you’re scared, you need to protect yourself. It’s natural.”

Glen smiled in the darkness of his den. “So a professional observation on human nature.”

“Fight or flight. So yeah, professional.”

“Has Dakota ever given you one of her books for free?”

Mary hesitated with her answer. “I’m her best friend. Of course she gives me a copy.”

Glen knew he needed to make the next words count or no matter how much the comparison worked, Mary would think he was full of shit.

He paused and spoke from his heart. “I miss my mom.”

“You’re changing the subject aga . . . wait, wh-what did you say?”

He felt his chest constrict with the admission. “I miss her. I miss my dad, too . . . but my mom . . . I don’t know, we didn’t have a lot of time together in those last years and I feel like I missed out on something.”

He heard Mary pause. “Oh, Glen . . . it’s natural. She left your life too early.”

“I know. Still sucks.”

“It does suck.”

They were both silent for a moment. He didn’t realize how hard the words were to say. He’d started out with this just as a way to get what he wanted, but now he felt better saying it out loud.

“I can come on Friday after five and need to be back Monday morning.”

Glen found himself squeezing his eyes shut. “My mom would have liked you.”

“You’ll have to show me pictures.”

“She was beautiful . . .” Glen went on to tell Mary how both he and Jason thought Trent was going to be a girl. And how they’d even put makeup on him when he was a toddler, teasing him. “Don’t tell Monica . . . oh, who am I kidding, women can’t keep secrets.”

“We can . . . just not ones as funny and innocent as that. A wife needs to know if her husband was an involuntary cross-dresser.”

“I’ll have to dig up the pictures we took that day. Maybe have one framed for his birthday.”

He did love the sound of Mary’s laugh.

“I’ll make all the arrangements for this weekend. The dinner is formal.”

“Floor-length formal or closer to what I wore in San Francisco?”

“Ask me an easier question.”

“Men! Are you wearing a suit or a tux?”

“Tux.”

“All right then.”

“That’s it? No more questions?”

“Unless you’re the best man in a wedding, a tux is only worn with superformal events. So instead of flat-out asking where you’re taking me, I can safely assume that a floor-length gown would be appropriate.”

“I didn’t realize I was dating Little Miss Etiquette.”

“I didn’t realize I was dating Li’l Mr. Clueless. I would think with your dating portfolio you’d know what a woman should wear.”

He should have been offended by the
dating portfolio
comment, but they both knew it was true. Glen moved the phone away from his face and yawned.

“You should probably go to bed,” she told him.

“You heard that?”

“I did.”

“It is after midnight here.” He had to be in the office by nine.

“Then I’ll say good night.”

“Okay. I’ll call you later in the week with details.” He waited for her to end the call.

“Glen?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t think for a second I don’t realize what you did back there . . . with the questions about Dakota . . . you telling me about your mom. I just don’t want you to think I’m dating you for the perks.”

“I don’t think that.”

“I’m glad we’re clear on that. Now go to bed.”

He laughed. “Yes, dear.”

She ended the call without saying good-bye.

Glen couldn’t be happier.

Noise from a jackhammer tore Mary from her bed. She twisted her head toward her alarm clock and slapped a hand across her eyes. It was seven thirty in the morning. And her neighbors were going to be pissed.

She grabbed her bathrobe from the edge of her bed and ran down her stairs calling the plumber’s name. “Leroy!”

The noise grew louder closer to the source.

“Leroy!”

She saw the shadows of two men beyond the plastic tarp before she unzipped it. The back of the man controlling the jackhammer faced her. There was no way she was going to be able to get his attention without touching him.

Mary reached out and tapped his shoulder.

He didn’t respond.

She used her whole hand the second time and he jumped away. His eyes were wide with shock until he realized she wasn’t a threat.

Mary waved a hand across her neck indicating for the man to cut off the machine.

When the racket stopped, her ears buzzed.

“Did you look at the time?”

Both men stared at her. “My English not good.”

“My Spanish is worse.” She didn’t recognize either man. “Leroy?”

The man standing outside her door responded. “Leroy come later.” He waved his hand in the air.

“Okay.”

The man with the hammer smiled and turned back to the giant noisemaker.

“No, no, no! People are sleeping!”

“No do?”

Both men looked thoroughly confused.

Mary pointed to her wrist. “Time,” she said. Then she placed both palms together and leaned them against the side of her head as if they were a pillow. “People are sleeping. I told Leroy he couldn’t do this until after ten.”

They exchanged glances before talking to each other in Spanish.

The same guy tried again. “We done ten.”

“No. Start at ten.” This wasn’t working. She lifted both hands in the air. “Hold on. I’m calling Leroy.”

Thankfully the man had his cell phone on him and answered immediately. “Leroy! What the heck.”

“Wait, who is this?”

“It’s Mary Kildare. There are two guys with a jackhammer waking up my neighbors.”

“I told you we were taking the slab today.”

“And I told you not to start until after ten.”

“My crew has another job after yours.”

It was too early for this. “Then send them to the other job first and come back here later.”

“They can’t. The other job has a baby in the house.”

She wanted to scream. “My neighbors have babies. Leroy, this is not negotiable. I cannot have these guys making
this
kind of noise at
this
time in the morning. I’m in a condo with a shared wall!”

“That will delay us.”

Mary pinched the bridge of her nose to keep from cussing. “How long?”

“I might be able to get the crew back there by Thursday.”

“This is getting ridiculous.”

“If they come on Thursday, I can get over there on Saturday—”

“Saturday does not work for me.” And she didn’t want him around on the weekend she was out of town. She couldn’t stop him if he showed up with a jackhammer then.

“It’s your floor. If the guys can’t make it Thursday, they can be back Monday morning.”

“Monday
afternoon!
”

“Right, your neighbors.”

Mary handed the phone to one of the guys standing in her doorway and waited while he fired off Spanish and grumbled. When he hung up, she was relatively sure she was being cussed at and smiled at simultaneously.

With all the chaos of the morning, Mary found herself running out the door with coffee in her hand to make her first appointment. Once behind the wheel she twisted the key and heard her car protest. Unlike the night before, it gave up its complaining and turned over. But the muttering the thing was making reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing. And it wasn’t fighting with the plumber.

To make matters worse, her first client of the day didn’t show . . . and didn’t call. She had a two-hour window of time between eleven and one. Mary thought for sure she’d be asking someone in the building to jump her car, but it finally turned over on the third try.